Indian Express: Chennai: Tuesday,
May 10, 2016.
The secretary
of the T Nagar Resident Welfare Association (TNRWA) is more than happy to talk
about his association and what it does that different from its peers in
Chennai. “We walk the talk when it comes to issues surrounding our
neighbourhood,” says Kannan.
As clichéd as
it sounds, Kannan is not exaggerating. The T Nagar association, which covers
every residence with the pincode 600017, has raised its banner on several
instances to promote the welfare of its residents. That it has managed to do
so, in the face of continuing threats from commercial outlets, deserves praise.
The association count on Right to Information (RTI) petitions and recourse to
court as vital tools in their endeavours. In 2014, Kannan filed a PIL against
the lack of fire safety norms in nearby commercial outlets. “Two years on, the
case is still pending. But we hope the court issues clear directions in that
regard,” he says.
Another
instance when the association stood up to the irregularities of these large
shops, was when a popular store dug up a borewell without any authorisation and
diverted the water for its benefit. “We immediately took up the issue and the
Corporation levied a fine of `6 lakh on that store,” says Kannan.
When in
December last year, residents of T Nagar struggled to stay above the water, the
association took up the issue with the Metro Water officials. Some of its
members asked one of their engineers about the direction of the storm water
flow and the official reportedly said he didn’t know. “Imagine an engineer who
says he doesn’t know the layout of storm water drains. We want the storm water
drain network in the area to be cleared so that the incident is never
repeated.”
Recently, the
welfare association hogged the limelight after news emerged that its members
would vote en-masse for ‘NOTA’ during the upcoming Assembly polls. “It is
ironic that we as residents who have voted for them aren’t served but instead
the interests of the owners of commercial complexes who aren’t even in the
local electoral roll are taken care of.”
Registered
under the Societies Registration Act in 2011, TNRWA has its origins in the
Motilal Street Residents’ Welfare Association which was successful in
maintaining the street’s outlook. The same year saw a candidate put up by TNRWA
in the civic elections for post of councillor (in ward 136) securing a credible
third position at local body elections.
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